Arusha,
17 February 2018 (EANA) – News that Tanzania had intercepted 5,000
chicks from Kenya and destroyed them was received with a heavy heart in
many quarters, putting into question the region’s determination
to forge ahead with regional integration.

Indeed,
trade in the region has long been plagued by all manner of non-tariff
barriers and difficulties, mainly arising from the lack of political goodwill
by leaders. This has prevented the resolution of pending issues.

When
it comes to barriers to trade, for instance, new ones are promptly put
in place once the previous ones are resolved, making the whole exercise
a wanton waste of time and resources.

In
the current situation, it is fair to recognise that Tanzania banned the
importation of chicks way back in 2007. However, it must also be recognised
that a lot of cross-border trade takes place unofficially between
the communities in the partner states, especially border communities.
Should this be made illegal? Should any products found to have crossed
borders be impounded and burnt?

Kenya
map

Part
of the reason given by Tanzanian authorities is that the chicks posed
a danger through the possible spread of bird flu. The question then arises,
is there an outbreak of bird flu in Kenya, or indeed any East African
country? Should Kenya similarly impound and burn any cattle from Tanzania
crossing the border into Kenya, on the pretext that such cattle could
spread foot and mouth disease, for instance?

As
the region moves into greater integration, it is expected that there will
be greater movement of people, goods, services and capital. More areas
of cooperation will open up between countries. There will be greater
need for telecommunications infrastructure, transport services, and cross-border
movement for tourism as well as in search of medical services, educational
opportunities, and other needs.

Naturally,
each country must be willing to loosen the controls as far as many previous
requirements are concerned. Of course, there will be need for a proper
regulatory environment in many sectors, but goodwill is required
where either this does not exist or the existing regulations are against
the spirit of the newfound cooperation between countries. And this is
where East African countries are failing.

The
East African Community has indeed spearheaded the harmonisation of regulations
in numerous sectors. This is an ongoing effort that is in no way nearing
completion. There have been efforts geared towards the harmonisation
of educational standards so as to come up with levels of equivalence,
the legal environment, health and phytosanitary standards, engineering
standards, and many other areas. These are welcome and should continue,
but any delay in reaching agreement or implementation should never
work to the detriment of the region’s citizens.

There
are also areas where there is little sign of agreement. These include
issues of land, where there has not been agreement as there are fears
in some quarters about opening up to a situation whereby a citizen
may buy land anywhere in the whole region.

Yet,
such fears must be resolved before the region can have a fully functioning
Common Market. In turn, this is a prerequisite for the coming into force
of the East African Monetary Union, whose implementation schedule
is already lagging far behind schedule.

When
countries are still arguing about chicks, confiscating and destroying
each other’s produce, what hope is there for a fully functioning
Common Market? How feasible is it to introduce a single currency
regime where movement of capital will be curtailed by measures of this
type? If we can’t agree on chicks and cattle, what possibility is
there that we will agree on more fundamental macroeconomic issues leading
to a single currency regime?

Increasingly,
it appears that East African countries have reached a point where they
must make an important decision regarding the future of the integration
project. The six partner states must decide whether they truly want
to integrate or they don’t. Dilly-dallying will only waste everyone’s
time and eventually scuttle the whole ideal, frustrating all those who
have held hopes of greater integration.

Perhaps,
the aims and scope of integration need to be renegotiated. Maybe, no country
is prepared to cede its sovereignty on critical issues, at least not yet.
That is why East African countries quietly downgraded their aspirations
from an eventual political federation to a confederation. It’s probably
about time that the same approach is taken in other areas as well.